


So Close, Yet So Far Away

by junko



Series: Chasing Demons [55]
Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s), Sexual Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-07 18:23:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of the dramatic departure of their Third Seat, Renji and Byakuya have to be extra careful around each other not to fan the flames of rumors and or give evidence to charges of fraternization.  That makes working together... torturous.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Close, Yet So Far Away

**Author's Note:**

> I tagged this explicit only because certain parts are mentioned by name during a daydream/fantasy. May disappoint if you're hoping for something super hot and heavy.

By the time he and Byakuya had finished talking through the last of the Division business, Renji was ready to fall backward onto the tatami and just sleep where he lay. But there could be none of that now, could there? No more sleepovers at the captain’s place for a while. Not with fraternization charges nipping at their heels.

Which was a really big bummer because after about six—or was it seven?--bowls of sake Renji was feeling pretty darn frisky… or maybe just cuddly. Yeah, curling up for a nap like a giant cat in Byakuya’s lap was all that Renji wanted right now.

“The sake was a bad idea,” Byakuya noted sternly. “That’s a very wicked smile.”

Putting his elbows on the table, Renji leaned across to leer into Byakuya’s face. “Yeah, but you like me wicked, don’t you?”

“Very much,” Byakuya said, surprising Renji by gracing his nose with a light peck of a kiss. “But you know we can’t risk anything right now.”

“Yeah, I know,” Renji sighed gloomily. “You going all the way back to the estate tonight?”

Byakuya raised his own sake bowl. “I’m not sure I’d make it. I’ll stay in my quarters at the Division.”

So, he’d be right there, too. No more than a stumble up the stairs away, tucked into those warm silk sheets all sexy and sleepy. Great. Just great. Renji pulled himself upright with a groan. It was going to be a long, long night.

Byakuya stood up and they said an awkward goodbye—with both of them nearly going into a kiss and having that ‘oh shit’ realization at the same time. Finally, Renji had to scamper for the door like the room was on fire. Which it kind of was given how hot Byakuya seemed all of a sudden. The cool outside air felt good on Renji’s flushed skin, a bit of a relief. 

“Yeah, so tomorrow then,” Renji said, peeking back in to where Byakuya stood, looking sort of forlorn, like he was a little lost without Renji. Renji hung onto the door while he slipped his sandals on, ostensibly for balance, but mostly it was to keep from running back and tackling Byakuya and dragging him to the floor and ravishing him. _Focus on business, Renji Abarai_ , he chided himself. Clearing his throat, he asked, “So… uh, what time are you planning on making that announcement?”

“At the beginning of second shift,” Byakuya said, his captain voice on, as he turned away. “I want you there. Have everyone gather at the mess hall.”

Okay, that helped. “Hai, Taicho.”

#

Renji made a quick jog down to the lieutenant’s offices to post the revised schedules before heading to bed. It was late enough that Nanako was off already and the Fifth Seat Daisuke Juba was on. The instant the Fifth Seat saw Renji he jumped to his feet to stand at attention, “Sir! I thought you were off duty.”

“At ease,” Renji waved him down. “I am. I kind of ended up pulling a double. Should’ve been to bed hours ago, though. The captain and I were just untangling all this,” he lifted the schedules to show. Renji turned to go over to post them on the wall. He had to steady himself on the Third’s desk when he spun around just a bit too fast for all the sake he’d had. Over his shoulder, he added, “Oh, yeah, and start telling people: there’s going to be an official announcement about everything at fourteen hundred hours in the mess. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” the Fifth said. Sitting down, he went back to his own work. 

Renji thought he might actually get out without having to answer any awkward questions. But, just as he was headed for the door the Fifth Seat cleared his throat. 

“You finally broke Miisho, huh?” Juba asked.

“Broke him? What’s that supposed to mean?” Renji turned around warily.

“He always said you were going to drive him to early retirement,” the Fifth said, rubbing the back of his head. Like a lot of men in the Sixth Division, Juba kept his hair trimmed short, though his had a tendency towards unruly curls the moment it got any length. Light brown bits coiled around his ears and at the top of his head. “You should have heard him when you were first appointed, sir. He never figured you last long with us, coming from the Eleventh like you did. I guess he bet on the wrong horse, eh?”

“Smart money is always on Eleven in a fight,” Renji agreed evenly. Pulling himself up to his full height, he glared across the room at the Fifth Seat. “You got something specific you want to say about that?”

The Fifth Seat swallowed hard, though he kept his gaze steady. “No, sir!”

“I’m not on duty, so now’s your chance,” Renji slid the door shut, so they could have some privacy. He tried not to take up a defensive posture as he continued, but the sake was making him belligerent, “Why don’t you say what’s on your mind? I gave Nanako one swing. Take your best shot.”

The Fifth looked nervous about it, but he said, “It’s just… well, this was bound to happen, wasn’t it? You’re drunk right now, aren’t you?”

“What?” It never failed to surprise Renji what prudes some of the Sixth were. He almost laughed, but managed to hold it back, knowing it would only make Juba angrier. “Kid, you ain’t seen me really drunk. I might be a little tipsy, but what the hell? I’m off duty. I had a little sake with the captain. So what? I can get plastered if I want on my own time.”

“Yeah, but you lot always want. It’s not the way we behave around here—at least, it never used to be until you came. The captain never tolerated it. But you…,” The Fifth shook his head in dismay. “I have no idea why, but the captain lets you get away with everything. No wonder Miisho lost it. That’s not how our division is supposed to run. He was right. You bring the captain down. You make us all dirty.”

There it was: the slap. And for some reason, that one hurt; Renji felt himself wince from the sting. “Right, okay, that’s your free shot,” he said, squaring up his shoulders after the blow. “Next one costs you, so watch yourself. And, since I’m off duty, I might take it personally. All I’m going to say is that I don’t give a fuck what you think about me. Only thing you got to remember is that when we’re working together I’m your commanding officer and you owe my rank respect if nothing else. If you can’t do that, you need to put in for a transfer. It’s that simple.”

“No, it’s not. We’ve already lost people to you and your recklessness,” Juba protested, his hands slapping the lieutenant’s desk as he shot to his feet. “This is the Sixth Division! We made this regiment in our captain’s image: Noble Reason! I’m here because I want to be a part of that, that’s part of who I am at my core.” He pounded his chest above his heart for emphasis. “We’re striving to be the best in all the Gotei Thirteen.”

“You think I don’t have that same goal?” Renji was angry, but even he could hear the hurt he tried to conceal in his own voice. “Do you really think I don’t want us to be the best, to make the captain proud?”

The Fifth’s mouth opened, but his eyes slid away. “I don’t know, sir. You raised your sword to us. You were ready to throw us all away for some girl.”

Renji nodded, feeling the fight leave him. “I can see how you’d think that. But I stayed on, didn’t I? I stayed because I wanted to make it right. This division is everything to me. Everything I’ve ever wanted. This place—him” Renji gestured towards the captain’s office “—that’s always been my goal, you understand?” When the Fifth had nothing but stony silence, Renji stopped trying to convince him. With a defeated shrug, he sighed. “Just don’t do anything rash for a couple of days, all right? I’m being shipped out to the Human World. When I’m gone, you can always put your money on the other guy and pray I ain’t got enough Eleven in me anymore.”

Not waiting to hear the Fifth’s response, Renji shoved the door open and stormed out.

#

Renji flung himself on to his cot, collapsing face first. He’d pulled Zabimaru out at the door, and now cradled the zanpakutō close against his chest. “I can’t believe you thought this was worth it.”

_Him_ , the zanpakutō hissed. _We said he was worth it._

_Humans are complicated_ , the deeper voice snarled. _We want him. And to fight. That is all_.

“So the rest is my problem, huh?” Renji teased fondly. “Typical.”

Zabimaru grumbled sleepily, so Renji rolled over and put the pillow over his face. After a minute with his topknot jamming into the back of his head, he realized he had to get back up to do something about his clothes and his hair. 

Not much later, his hair was in a braid and he was naked under the covers. Feeling the cool cotton on his skin made him long for silk and a warm body. So he let his mind and his hand drift as he thought about Byakuya: Byakuya naked. Byakuya wet and naked. Byakuya under him. Byakuya on top. Byakuya in the Human World, in the love hotel, all dressed up like a stern teacher with that ruler and….

Renji was just getting into it when he felt a familiar reiatsu… _throbbing_ overhead.

Holy shit.

Byakuya was upstairs… going solo, too.

Renji groaned. Flinging his head back, he banged it against the headboard because all he wanted to do was streak up the stairs and bash the door open and… offer to help, beg Byakuya to tie him up or pin him down or throw Byakuya over and fuck him hard. Anything! Just to get in on it, because, damn, feeling that power, the rhythm—ugh. Renji had to clench his jaw to keep from letting out a strangled cry.

Renji couldn’t believe it. They were twenty feet apart and couldn’t touch each other. This was torture.

At least he could sense it, even if he couldn’t watch.

What did Byakuya even look like right now, his hand on that gorgeous cock, stroking himself, just like Renji was doing right now? The images that flooded Renji’s brain were tantalizing. Maybe he was kneeling on the bed, naked, with sweat covering his pale, perfect skin with a glistening sheen, like he was showing off or… offering himself to Renji.

Hmmmm, yeah. Maybe Byakuya’s inky hair would be free of the kenseikan and just a bit ruffled. Eyes half-lidded with pleasure, those dark lashes might tremble slightly. The heat of a blush would pink his cheeks, maybe even traveling down his neck to flush his whole body.

Oh, yeah, just like that.

Only in this fantasy, there’d be none of that controlled silence, no holding back the noises and the squirming. In fact, Renji would make him say what he was thinking… out loud and put words to all that dirty talk that had surfaced when Byakuya was ill from Gin Ichimaru’s poison. ‘Tell me,’ Renji would demand, ‘Exactly what you want to do to me.’

Maybe Byakuya would resist, wet his mouth, chew on a lip… a little nervously, a little shyly.

Yeah, and then maybe Renji would have to make him talk.

Oh, god, yeah. He’d have to go over there and take him by the hair and pull his head back. He’d have to taste the desperate need in his mouth, tease him to the brink, maybe even give a cruel tug on nipple and feel Byakuya moaning into him…. then Renji would pull away and leave him like that. Hear him whimpering, wanting more, and cruelly reminding him that he was there to satisfy Renji, to serve him…. Tell him the only way he’d get more is if he’d give up his darkest fantasies.

Hmmm, yeah.

But, what would they be? What kinky things would come out of that noble, pristine mouth? Hell, what was Byakuya imagining right now? If his reiatsu was any indication it was hard and fast… but was he thinking of Renji thrusting into him, or was it the other way around? Was Renji the one on his knees… or with his ass in the air… or maybe Byakuya was remembering that first time up there in the captain’s quarters, with Renji tied to the bedposts, his legs in the air and Byakuya, that bastard, refusing to touch his cock, leaving it hard and desperate, thrusting uselessly against himself as his balls were bounced around cruelly and his ass spread wide, on fire with pleasure and a deep ache that…

Suddenly the reiatsu of Byakuya’s release rushed through him, like a mighty wave that Renji rode until he had no other choice but to be carried out to sea with it.

When it was over, Renji lay there catching his breath. He stared the glitter of plaster dust raining down from the cracks in his ceiling and felt the waves of the orgasm shudder through his body like aftershocks of the reiatsu pulse.

Fuck, how many people in the barracks had felt that? 

Byakuya must be more than a little tipsy to have let so much of that leak out. And then from the both of them, too….

Cripes, how did anyone not know? 

Renji tried not to think about it. Cleaning up half heartedly with the blanket, he wadded the fabric up and tossed it into the corner. Grabbing another from the top of his footlocker and he unfolded it. Jeez, he thought, flapping the blanket out, the people who knew for sure were the laundress and the quartermaster. They probably even had physical evidence. But, then the servant-types always knew that stuff, had all the blackmailable goods.

Man, they’d better hope Byakuya’s staff couldn’t be bought.

But, Renji couldn’t think about all the implications and politics and bullshit any more. It was doing his head in. Tomorrow… he’d think about it tomorrow. He snuggled deeper under the stiff, fresh sheets and pulled Zabimaru close, listening to them mutter about all the interruption and random reiatsu blasts.

Mmm, yeah, that had been all right in its own way. Renji clung to the feeling of being sated by passion and let the images from his fantasies lull him to sleep.

Tomorrow was going to suck.

But that was later. He’d deal with all that later.

#

Unfortunately, the morning came far too quickly. Renji slept in until almost noon, but still had plenty of time to get to the laundry and request a new set of sheets from the quartermaster. It was too late to get into the Kuchiki hot springs; Renji and his tattoos would be barred at this hour. So he gathered up his things and shunpō’d to the sento the Eleventh Division frequented.

He had just enough change to get in. The attendant took his ken and gave him a gap-toothed smile, “Ain’t seen you in a while, Renji. Looks like you got the place to yourself, too.”

“Perfect.” Renji had already felt the hot stares of the Division on his back as he was leaving. No one had said anything more than ‘good afternoon’ so it was probably just his guilty conscience and a heavy sense of dread dogging him. All the same, it was a relief to be alone.

Half the showers were broken, but Renji managed to find one that trickled out a meager stream of cold water, just enough to wash his hair and scrub his body. After he finished, he checked the time. He could manage a quick soak if he didn’t linger.

Maybe, he thought, as he got into the just-barely-warm-enough water, today wouldn’t entirely suck.

Renji stared at the graffiti-spattered walls and tried to parse one particularly bad pun. The misspellings didn’t help. But when he read it in his head in Ikkaku’s voice, it made more sense.

The place was filthy. Some kind of oily film floated on the water. Abandoned bars of soap stuck in melted wads on the tile floor. Towels moldered on the windowsill. Chunks were missing from the half-wall that separated the men’s from the women’s side. No surface lacked scrawled rude observations, declarations of undying love, graphic pictures, or commentary about certain people’s manliness or lack thereof. Hell, there was Renji’s own handwriting on the wall, making some stupid joke involving peacocks and cueballs.

Heh, okay, that one was still a little funny.

But when did this place stop being home and start looking like shit? Is this what people saw when they looked at him? 

The water suddenly felt cold. Renji got out. He cursed when he slipped on some soap, but managed not break another faucet. Dressing in a hurry, Renji didn’t look back as he flashed back to the Sixth.

#

The guard at the doors told Renji the captain had been looking for him and that he was supposed to go directly to the office when he returned. Hurrying up the stairs, he was kicking off his sandals when the door slid open and Byakuya said, “Don’t bother. We’ll go down immediately.”

“I’m not late,” Renji insisted, stomping back into his shoes.

“We need to make a proper entrance,” Byakuya replied, sweeping out onto the double loggia. He gave Renji’s wet hair--which had been stuck up into a haphazard topknot still dripping--a disapproving glance. His hand lifted as though to straighten Renji’s collar, but quickly retreated back to his side. “And it seems you need tidying. Let’s go take up our position.”

“Seriously, sir?’ Renji grumbled, as he fell into step behind Byakuya. “You’re planning on telling the Division almost nothing, but we got to go in with pomp and circumstance?”

They were taking the long way around to the mess hall. Apparently, Byakuya meant to come in from the kitchens and position them at the back of the room. Made sense.

Byakuya sighed. “We’re making a dramatic arrival precisely _because_ we plan to offer nothing. It’s a strategic move to ensure a sense of impenetrability.”

Renji smiled for the first time today. “Wait, are you telling me that you actually have to plan this aloofness stuff in advance? It doesn’t come naturally?”

They were nearly to the door and Byakuya paused to glance over his shoulder. “Disappointed?”

“The magic just died for me,” Renji said with mock seriousness. “It’s over between us.”

“Mmmm, I certainly hope not,” Byakuya said with a surprisingly seductive purr, “I spent a lot of time last night thinking of you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Renji grinned, feeling a blush color the tips of his ears. He was glad they were at the back of the mess hall now. The division was eerily empty with everyone already gathering at the front. “Uh, I was thinking about you, too.”

Since they were sheltered under the portico and hidden from casual observation by a pile crates and boxes beside the kitchen’s back door, Byakuya finally reached up to straighten Renji’s collar. He ran his finger between shitage and kosode as he tugged them into place. Renji tried not to feel the heat of his skin through the fabric, but Byakuya stood tantalizingly close. A strong wind snuck under the porch to flap the hems of Byakuya’s haori against Renji’s thighs and nearly up to snap at his back--momentarily enveloping them both in a flutter of white.

“We’ll have to find some time to exchange… stories,” Byakuya murmured. Though he let his fingertips trail a little way down Renji’s chest when he was finished, he dropped his hand with a sigh. “But, unfortunately, it won’t be today. I’m still not sure how to best play the situation with Soi Fon, but she’s sent a hell butterfly. I’ve accepted her ‘invitation.’ We’ll go there directly once we’ve finished here.”

Apparently, Byakuya was a big believer in getting all the hardest shit out of the way first. Even though dread clenched Renji’s gut at the thought, it was probably a good idea on a lot of levels. Being away from the Division on official business before all the questions started pouring in would give Renji a chance to gain a little distance. Otherwise, his knee-jerk response would be just to answer people truthfully, and then at that point they might as well just admit to everything.

Of course, he kind of wished they just could.

“You sure about this, Taicho?” Renji asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of interior of the mess hall to indicate he meant the announcement rather than the business with Soi Fon. “Are they going to feel lied to if we don’t come clean?”

“We won’t lie, Renji,” Byakuya said, taking a moment to adjust Senbonzakura and corral the wayward haori. “A full confession right now is not only dangerous, but unnecessary. I’ve received no communiqué from the head captain’s office. For the moment there’s no reason to think charges will ever be brought against us.”

Renji tipped his head in a kind of a head shake/shrug. “You’re the boss.”

Byakuya turned away from Renji. Squaring his shoulders, he slid the door open. “Yes,” he said crisply. “Leave the politics to me.”

#

Renji had to admit he was impressed. Not only was their entrance dramatic enough to cause gasps and instant hushing, but Byakuya also managed to talk for several minutes, very officially, about absolutely nothing. 

And yet somehow, during the dry, perfectly accurate recitation of the details surrounding the public parts of the events, Byakuya made the Third Seat seem unreasonably emotional about it all. The subtext was very clear: anyone who sides with the Third in this matter doubts me and my judgment and is quite possibly a moron.

Standing behind him, Renji tried to figure out how Byakuya pulled all that off without actually saying any of it. Part of it was tone of voice—there was a strong quality of ‘isn’t it all obvious’ underlying each and every word he spoke. Some of it was stance. There was so much confidence in the way Byakuya stood in front of the full assembly of the division, it was impossible to doubt him. This dude knew his shit, and he was giving it to you straight. End of story.

But, Renji decided that, despite what they’d teased about a minute ago, some of it Byakuya really was _born with_. You don’t question a noble of his stature, you just don’t. He was _The_ Kuchiki and that was one step down from the Spirit King. You were simply meant to bow before that. It was like the law of natural order.

It was no wonder everyone blamed Renji. They’d never believe him if he told them, ‘Yeah, you know, it all started because Byakuya was piss-eyed drunk…’ and then they’d call Renji such a fucking liar if he explained how he’d been ordered to strip naked in the office and that _he_ was the one that put a stop to that exploitive nonsense.

Sure, Abarai, tell us another one. After all, what was it the Fourth had said? ‘I’d believe it of you, Renji, but not him.’

And, shit, she supposedly had a crush on him.

This was why the Third hadn’t bothered with Yamamoto. Byakuya’s nobility could protect him everywhere except inside his own family.

A rafter shaking chorus of ‘Hai, Taicho!” roused Renji from his reverie in time to follow the captain as he moved through the crowd to the door. The sea of bodies parted and bowed before them like water around a rock.

#

True to his word, Byakuya led Renji straight to the front gate. As they nodded to the guard, Renji sighed, “No rest for the wicked, huh?”

“Let’s walk a while,” Byakuya said, putting a hand out to stop him when Renji got ready to shunpō. “Have you eaten? We should feed you before we go. Who knows how long this might take. Besides, it’s a lovely day. A stroll in the crisp autumn air might be just the thing.”

Renji gave Byakuya a little wry glance. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were stalling.”

“I am a little,” Byakuya admitted. “I sent your brother to the Second so we could avoid all this conflict of interest. I hate having to throw you headfirst into the fire, especially since I’m so uncertain of Soi Fon’s motives. I need a moment to clear my head, that’s all.”

The sun was warm on Renji’s face and the thought of food made his stomach growl. “I’m in no hurry,” he shrugged. “I know a good sushi stall kind of in the right direction.”

Byakuya smiled lightly and with a nod, indicated that Renji should lead the way. They walked down the streets of the Seireitei side-by-side in silence for a while. The afternoon light brightened the ochre colored tiles of the rooftops. The bustle of daily life hummed around them, though several people did double-takes to see Byakuya out in kenseikan and haori. Some even bowed or dropped to their knees, but he ignored them. “Do you think it went well with the Division?”

Renji grinned proudly, “I don’t know what I was thinking doubting you. Politics is clearly your game.”

“But not yours,” Byakuya said quietly, thoughtfully. 

“No,” Renji agreed. “I’ve got a few disadvantages.”

“Which we must mitigate while in Soi Fon’s lair, but how?”

“Marry me to your fifth cousin?” Renji offered jokingly. 

“Tempting,” Byakuya mused, “Though I think you would find her vapid and dull. Perhaps, like so many other suitors, you would forgive such flaws when presented with her stupefying beauty.”

“Heh,” Renji said, amused by how snarky Byakuya sounded. He turned down the street where the sushi vendor usually parked her truck. “Stupefying, huh? She must look a lot like you.”

Byakuya smiled at the compliment, but seemed stuck by another thought. “It is curious that my aunt would waste my cousin on someone as lowborn as our Third Seat. Hers is the kind of face that political alliances are forged from.”

Renji stopped in front of the cart to admire his breakfast choices. The masago roe and eel looked particularly tasty this afternoon. He ordered several. “I thought you said fifth cousin wasn’t that close.”

“It isn’t. But considering the sheer volume of suitors clamoring for any available Kuchiki hand, even a fifth cousin isn’t something to be doled out without careful consideration of every option. That’s why we have a family matchmaker. It’s a fulltime job to review the candidates,” Byakuya chewed his lip in a way that made Renji have to look away, remembering his fantasies from last night. 

Having forgotten that he spent his last ken at the sento, Renji searched his pockets frantically but came up empty. He was about to apologize and wave off the food, when Byakuya’s hand appeared with a large enough note that the vendor protested, “Sir, I can’t make change!”

“I’m afraid it’s all I have on me,” Byakuya apologized. “Please keep the difference.”

The old woman looked at the note with a mixture of greed and guilt. Finally, she snatched it from Byakuya. Then, spontaneously, she shoved a couple of extra rolls onto Renji’s order from the fancy tray Renji hadn’t even bothered to look at because of the posted prices. Handing them over, she cheerily said, “An extra treat for your generous friend!”

Renji took them with a bow. They were more than he could afford, but for what Byakuya paid they should be wrapped in gold foil instead of nori.

“Besides which,” Byakuya continued, as if they hadn’t been interrupted, “It would be one thing if my fifth cousin were only moderately attractive, but I found the picture aunt Massay sent in the Third’s diary. I remember her now because there was a lot of talk about her. You see, no matter the ranking, the prettiest girls are by far the most valuable, jewels to be offered as bait to the highest bidder. She will lose the Kuchiki name, but we gain an ally, preferably with a blood and breeding worth the dowry. Thus, I’m surprised to find our Third winning out under such extreme competition. I don’t understand it, really. Perhaps the loss was worth it to my aunt to have so well-placed a spy.”

When Byakuya waved away his offer of the one of the special sushi, Renji popped it into his mouth. Uni? Could have been, because it melted in his mouth like some kind of floral-scented custardy-thing. “Yeah, I guess that’s a mystery, huh?” Renji asked after taking a moment to savor the sushi, “Unless she was never planning on making good on her promise.”

“The letter seemed to indicate otherwise,” Byakuya said, “I checked it thoroughly last night. Though, perhaps now that her spy has lost his place, he’ll be deemed less valuable. A breach of contract could be called.”

Renji continued to shove sushi rolls in his mouth as they turned in the direction of the Second. He kind of wished they’d gotten more for Byakuya’s money; they were disappearing fast. “Will that help us?”

“Not really,” Byakuya said. “For the moment we must assume Miisho is my relative. Besides, even if Aunt Masama were planning to nullify the contract she won’t--not as long as she can use it as leverage against me.”

“Awesome,” Renji noted sarcastically.

“Indeed. And none of this helps with Soi Fon,” Byakuya said with a sigh.

“Not sure there is anything for that.” Glancing down the streets as if trying to see dungeons of the Second at this distance, Renji shook his head, “She’s supposed to be on our side, though, right? I mean, we’re all in the Gotei together, aren’t we?”

“Hmmm, perhaps I should remind her of that fact.”

#

Renji knew things were already headed for the shitter when it wasn’t Soi Fon that greeted them but that annoying buffoon Marechiyo Ōmaeda. Speaking of tactics and strategy, Renji was pretty sure the plan here was: irritate the fuck out of Byakuya.

It was already working.

Because Ōmaeda had the balls to actually come barreling up to Byakuya with arms wide, like he expected a hug. “Welcome! Welcome! Right this way, boys!” 

Caught off guard by how big the lieutenant was up-close, Renji got snagged under one arm. Suddenly, his face was crushed far too deeply into Ōmaeda’s meaty pectorals, which smelled of a disgusting combination of man sweat and stale potato chips. Byakuya, at least, managed to preserve his dignity by neatly sidestepping with shunpō. Meanwhile, Renji, it seemed, was going to have to suffer the vice-grip of an arm around his shoulder the whole long trudge up the stairs to the division’s main building. 

Ignoring Byakuya’s slight, Ōmaeda turned his boisterous attention on his captive, Renji: “Your brother is certainly troublesome, Abarai,” he exclaimed jovially, “Doesn’t look much like you though. Different father?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Renji said with an eye roll. “And let me guess your next one, Ōmaeda: ‘Your mother must have been a real bitch.’”

“Ha! That’s a good one,” Ōmaeda gave Renji a cheerful, if bruising, slap on the back, and he repeated, “Mother a bitch! Because of Inuzuri: dog… bitch. I get it! That’s funny, Abarai. You should do stand-up!” 

Renji could sense the muscles in Byakuya’s back rippling like an irritated cat, where he stalked one pace ahead on these never ending stairs.

Ōmaeda was starting to sweat from the excursion, but he leaned his jowly face into Renji conspiratorially to stage whisper, “You know, speaking of that, I think maybe your brother might be a bit of a delinquent. I think he was in a gang, can you imagine?”

“Yeah, I wonder what they might have called themselves, huh?” Renji asked with a glare.”It’s a real head scratcher. But I bet it started with an ‘A’ and ends with an ‘I’” 

Byakuya had made it to the top and turned around to glower down at Ōmaeda. “I was under the impression that your Third Seat was in charge of the detention unit. Will that person be meeting us or must we deal with you, Lieutenant?”

“I heard you folks at the Sixth have trouble with Third Seats, so I figured maybe I’d better liaise. Don’t want Abarai here throwing ours into the street!” He laughed.

Renji almost stumbled up the last step.

An honest-to-god hiss escaped Byakuya and his eyes narrowed. But, he pursed his lips and said, “I see how it will be. Very well. Lead the way, Lieutenant.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger nature of this installment, I'm several hundred words into the next part, so hopefully you won't have to wait too long.


End file.
